Improved car-coupling



1. KINGSBURY.

Car Coupling. No. 57,732. Patented Sept, 4, 1866.

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Witnesses Inventor:

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UNITED STATES *PATENT OFFICE'.

JOHN KINGSBURY, OF RAVENNA, OHIO.

IMPROVED CAR-COUPLING.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 57,732, dated September4, 1866.

To all whom it mail concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN KINGSBURY, of Ravenna, in the county of Portageand State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRailroad-Oar Couplings 5 and I do hereby declare that the following is afull and complete description of the construction and operation of thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part ofthis specication, in which- Figure l is a side View of the coupling;Fig. 2, a bottom view of the same.

Letters of reference denote like parts in the views presented.

A A, Fig. l, is the'plattorm of the cars, to the under side of which thecoupling is attached. B is a pair of stays, in which the jaws O O aresecured by the pins a.. D is a spring, lnade of rubberor other suitablemateA rial, and is placed between the rear arms of the jaws in order toforce the arms apart, and thereby bring the jaws close and iirinly downupon the neck of the hook D', when the hook is forced between them inthe act of coupling. E is a standard, against which the arms of the jawsslide, one on each side, thereby preventing any lateral movement of thearms. It also serves to regulate the distance of the vertical action ofthe arms by the shoulders l) b, so that the jaws may not open too wideto admit of a quick and immediate griping of the hook when it is pushedthrough them. F isa chain, one end of which is connected to the armofthe upper jaw, passing thence thiough a hole in the end ot' the armofthe lower jaw, and from thence over the sheave G to the upright shaftH, around which lit winds on turning the shaft by the wheel l. J J aresprings, made of rubber or other proper material, and placed on the rearof the stays B, for the purpose of easing the blow consequent upon thecars striking when in the act of coupling' together.

D', above referred to, is ahook, and secured in a pair of stays, K, by apin, O. The rear end of this hook is provided with a stem or shank, L,which passes through a slotted stay, M. Below and above the stem arerubber springs, d d, or their equivalent. These springs keep the hook ina straight line with the bottom of the cars, and should the hook bepressed downward or upward, on its passing into the jaws of thecoupling, it is again brought to a straight line by the springs.

N N are springs of the same material, and for the same purpose as thesprings J J.

It will be remarked that the stays B and K, i l

on which the hook and jaws are placed, are not xedrigidly to the bottomof the cars, but are secured to it by two bands, e c', on the staysholding the hook and the stays holding the jaws'by these bandsff, Fig.2. These bands permit the stay a slight movement backward and forward,so that on striking; when in the act of coupling, they yield to theforce of the blow, and by the resistance of the springs its effect isthereby lessened and the stays again forced forward bythe strength ofthe springs.

N is a step supporting the shaft H, and h a pawl and ratchetwheel on theshaft H. i is a ring to keep the washer i in place.

The manner of using the coupling is as follows: The two cars, each beingprovided with its respective sections of the couplings, are broughttogether, the hook, in consequence of its pointed elongated head, passesfreely through the jaws, which thus gripe it tightly around the neck,and is held thus by the spring D, above referred to, and the hook alsobeing slightly barbed prevents them from uncoupling in a direct line ofthe draft. Should the cars slipfrom the track, or should there be anyviolent and dangerous side movement, the tongue or hook would then beforced out sideY wise from the jaws, and thereby the cars would becomedetached from each other.

In order to uncouple the cars under ordinary circumstances, the shaft His turned. This turning of the shaft winds up the chain or rope F, whichin so doing' draws down the arm of the upper jaw. At the same time itdraws up the arm of the lower jaw, thus bringing the two closertogether, while the jaws are by this movement opened wide enough toadmitof the withdrawal of the hook, and thus kept opened, if so desired,by the pawl and ratchetwheel referred to above.

What I claim as my improvement, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

l. The arrangement of the jaws C, when pivoted together and to theadjustable stay Bv, in combina-tion with the standard E, springs J D,chain F', and windlass, as specified.

2. The hook D', and adjustable stays K, when arranged 'and pivoted asset forth, in combination with the springs Nd and jaws O, as and for thepurpose set forth.

JOHN KINesBURY.

Witnesses WILLIAM lCooLMAN, F. W. GOFFIN.

